Possibly dealing with a pissed off principal

Oooooh, he's gonna write a letter to the professor and tattle?!?!? I just soiled myself in fear, and I'm not even involved.

Seriously, any J-school professor worth a shit will tell this clown to fuck off for you, Town.

 

let him call the j-school. if the professors there are anything like the journalism professors i've had, they'll put him in his place quick, fast, and in a hurry.

 

The principal is being a bully. Remind him of that, and ask if his district has a no-tolerance policy regarding bullying.

You will need to tell the intern he/she did nothing wrong, and in fact did everything right by getting parent permission to interview a minor on a touchy topic. You may need to tell the intern this once or twice. Remind the intern about the "badge of honor" stuff, too. And that the principal's phone call, if it happens, won't affect the intern's school or work standing. You have to say these things - don't just assume the intern knows.

 

This ends all the bullshit here. Tell him to write the letter. Tell him that you're going to write a letter to the school board, councilman, and mayor, about his actions in this regard.
More attention to this gang problem is the last thing this ass clown wants.

 

that's pretty damned solid ... then tell him to fuck himself.

 

Not a problem, Mr. Principal. Oh, and I'll be happy to also explain the situation to Mr. Superintendent with copies to the Mr and Mrs. School Board Members about your threat, on how you've threatened a 22-year-old for interviewing some 17-year-old students, with their parents' permission, about the problems at your school.

Now, can I get you the j-school's address?

 

As others have said, let him write a letter to the editor, and let his words hang him. You need only to gently guide him along, since he seems like he can finish it off easily enough.

 

Thanks for all the help, guys.

I was pretty sure the intern and I were in the right, but I didn't want to feel unprepared if the guy decided to go apeshit on me. Now that I've read the responses to this thread, I'm almost hoping he does contact me so I can put him in his place.

I believe I've already told my intern that she did everything right. I'll make absolutely sure she knows it and knows I've got her back. I'll also tell her that pissing this guy off is a good thing along the lines of a journalist going to jail to protect a source being a badge of honor.

 

Sounds like your intern knows her stuff and has a bright future in this business. Good work on her part.

 

Preemptive strike on him is in order, you contact him first and tell him how out of line and over his head he is.

 

Fuck the badge of honor. Freedom is a very important thing. I'm not saying give up a source - I've never been in that situation - but I'm not going to jail worrying about somebody making me their bitch for the night while my source is living comfortably. No can do.

 

Ummm what are you talking about here?